The subject matter disclosed herein relates to ultrasonic inspection systems, and more specifically, an ultrasonic matrix phased array inspection system.
Nondestructive testing devices can be used to inspect test objects to detect and analyze anomalies in the objects. In an ultrasonic inspection system, electrical pulses are transmitted to an ultrasonic probe where they are transformed into ultrasonic pulses by one or more ultrasonic transducers (e.g., piezoelectric elements) in the ultrasonic probe. During operation, the electrical pulses are applied to the electrodes of one or more ultrasonic transducers, generating ultrasonic waves that are transmitted into the test object to which the probe is coupled. In some ultrasonic inspection systems, the ultrasonic waves are transmitted directly from the ultrasonic probe into the test object, while in other ultrasonic inspection systems, the ultrasonic waves are transmitted from the ultrasonic probe to the test object indirectly through a fluid (e.g., water) between the probe and the test object. As the ultrasonic waves pass through the test object, various reflections, called echoes, occur as the ultrasonic wave interacts with anomalies in the test object. Conversely, when an ultrasonic wave is reflected back from the test object and is received by the piezoelectric surface of the ultrasonic transducers, it causes the transducers to vibrate generating a voltage difference across the electrodes that is detected as an electrical signal received by signal processing electronics. By tracking the time difference between the transmission of the electrical pulse and the receipt of the electrical signal, and measuring the amplitude of the received electrical signal, various characteristics of the anomaly (e.g., depth, size, orientation) can be determined.
Ultrasonic inspection systems may be used to inspect longitudinal test objects having an elongated longitudinal axis, such as bar stock or tubes, for various flaws or defects in manufacturing, including longitudinal defects, transverse defects, and oblique defects. In order to inspect the longitudinal test objects for defects existing at different orientations, ultrasonic inspection systems may employ a plurality of ultrasonic probes surrounding the longitudinal test object and then rotate and maneuver the ultrasonic probes around the longitudinal test object as the test object is transported through the ultrasonic inspection system. The requirement that the ultrasonic probes rotate and maneuver about the longitudinal test object results in a mechanically complex ultrasonic inspection system that is expensive to manufacture and can require a significant amount of maintenance.